Is this the world’s most beautiful parking garage?

With Detroit filing for bankruptcy today, it seemed apropos that this incredible example of the architecture of decay in the city is also making the rounds on the internet.

This image is of the former Michigan Theater, completed with great fanfare in 1926 at a cost of $5 million and a crowning jewel of Detroit’s boom era. After falling into disrepair in the 1970s, there were plans for the theater to be demolished, but officials found that to do so would endanger the other buildings in the area.

As a solution, the auditorium was gutted, a gaping hole smashed through the wall and three levels of car parking installed. The former Michigan Theater is an odd sight today, with cars parked several storeys below the gilded ceiling, watched over by cherubs that flank the former stage. Even the torn remains of red velvet curtains hang amid peeling plaster, while several steps of a still-carpeted staircase can be seen rising to the abandoned balcony.

The idea reminded me of a potential plan to turn Houston’s old, underground cistern into a parking garage. There has been talk of also turning it into a space for a huge underground art installation.

The water sits perfectly still on the floor of the reservoir which creates a mirrored image of the ceiling on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Houston. The reservoir nicknamed “The Cistern” is near Jamail Skate Park along Sabine Pass. It’s the size of a football field, and has rows of slender Romanesque columns that hold up the brick ceiling. The Buffalo Bayou Partnership is planning for “The Cistern” to be transformed into a public arts space. ( Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle )

Now I’m wondering if there’s any reason it can’t be both. Why shouldn’t such a cool space be useful? Wouldn’t more people get to appreciate it that way? Tell me what you think.